Prospect Talent Score

Probability of Success

History

2009-10: Ben Hutton skated in 60 games for the Kemptville 73’s in the junior A Central Canada Hockey League. Skating primarily as a left wing, he was the fifth-leading scorer for Kemptville, finishing with 16 goals and 18 assists, and he had 6 penalty minutes. Kemptville finished third in the Robinson Division. Hutton was scoreless with 2 penalty minutes in the four game playoff series with Brockville. He was selected by Kingston in the fifth round (100th overall) of the 2010 OHL Priority Draft.

2010-11: Shifting to defense for Kemptville in his second season, Hutton was an assistant captain and the team’s leading scorer. He scored 8 goals with 27 assists in 61 games and had 28 penalty minutes. Fourteen of his 35 points came on the power play, including 12 assists. The 73’s finished tenth in the re-aligned 12-team CCHL and did not make the playoffs.

2011-12: Hutton served as captain for the CCHL-champion Nepean Raiders after being obtained in a mid-season trade with the Kemptville 73s. He represented Canada East in the 2011 World Junior A Challenge and in November he committed to playing college hockey at the University of Maine in 2012-13. In 35 games with Kemptville prior to the trade he scored 7 goals with 20 assists and had 25 penalty minutes. He scored 4 goals with 12 assists and had 6 penalty minutes in 22 regular season games with Nepean. Hutton scored 5 goals with 8 assists and had 6 penalty minutes in 18 playoff games. He scored the game-winner in overtime in Game 6 of the final series with Cornwall with the Raiders down three games to two. In five games at the Fred Page Cup for the eastern Canada junior A championship Hutton had 5 assists. Nepean lost to Woodstock in the championship game. In four games for runner-up Canada East at the WJAC he scored 1 goal with 2 assists and had 2 penalty minutes. Ranked 200th amongst North American skaters in Central Scouting’s final rankings in his second year of draft eligibility, he was selected by Vancouver in the fifth round (147th overall).

2012-13: Hutton skated in 34 games for Maine as a freshman and was the Black Bears’ third-leading scorer behind forwards Devin Shore (Dallas) and Joe Diamond (Islanders). Paired with senior Mike Cornell and a key part of Maine’s power play, he scored 4 goals with 11 assists and was +2 with 18 penalty minutes. The Black Bears struggled for much of the season, finishing eighth in Hockey East, and were swept by regular season champion Massachusetts-Lowell in the playoff quarterfinals.

2013-14: Hutton was one of the top offensive defensemen in college hockey in his sophomore season at the University of Maine. He scored 15 goals, nine of which came on the Black Bears’ power play, and was +8 with 14 assists and 8 penalty minutes in 35 games. Maine finished sixth in Hockey East — defeating Merrimack in a preliminary round game before being swept by Providence in a best-of-three quarterfinal series.

Talent Analysis

Hutton is a converted forward playing defense and uses those instincts both to defend his own zone and on the attack. He is a big player and can cover a lot of ice effectively. Hutton finds ways to be involved in the play though he can sometimes force a play at the expense of allowing scoring chances for the opponent.

Future

Hutton will report to the Utica Comets or the Kalamazoo Wings for the start of the 2015-16 season and his offense will be an asset to whichever team he finds himself on. If he solidifies his defensive play he should be a full time AHL player no later than 2016-17. Hutton could develop into a good offensive defenseman for the Canucks one day, but that day is still a couple years away.

Photo: Vancouver Canucks prospect Patrick McNally has been one of college hockey’s best defensemen when healthy. (courtesy of Zach Bolinger/Icon Sportswire)

Vancouver’s prospect pool is largely a professional group this season. Though the Canucks have looked to the United States college path as a developmental course with great success in the past (Ryan Kesler, Cory Schneider, R.J. Umberger, Adrian Aucoin), the last significant draft selection was 2009’s first round pick used on Jordan Schroeder, who disappointed as a Canuck. Boston College’s Thatcher Demko will look to reverse that trend.

Photo: Edmonton Oil Kings defenseman and Vancouver Canucks prospect Ashton Sautner was a member of the Oil Kings squad that won the WHL and Memorial Cup championships in 2013-14 (courtesy of Mark Spowart/Icon Sportswire)

After a week of NHL prospect signings that featured activity mostly in the NHL’s Eastern Conference, a pair of Western Conference teams have logged the only signings since the weekend. Read more»